The Bet
by Ambrosia Rush
Summary: Callen reaps the rewards of being right. Short one-shot.


Callen couldn't keep the grin off his face. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his distressed jeans and followed Sam into the restaurant pleased to see it didn't have any kind of fancy dress code seeing as he wore a grey t-shirt that might have been singed a little in a near miss with an explosion earlier in the day.

"Two," Sam said to the hostess with agitation. He could feel the energy his partner was giving off, and the rarity of the Callen's smile might have been a welcome change had Sam not known what the smile was for. Sam dropped into the booth and Callen smiled at the pretty blonde hostess and thanked her for the menus.

Opening the menu, Callen studied it for a second and then looked over the brim, his blue eyes finding his partners dark brown ones. "Don't be such a sore loser, Sam," Callen said his smile widening marginally and it only made Sam angrier.

"You shouldn't be so happy about this," Sam said.

"Why not? I get a free meal, drinks and dessert included," Callen said remembering the outline of their bet.

Their waitress came over and Sam mentally bookmarked where they were in the conversation. The waitress was a brunette, long wavy hair with bangs that sort of reminded both men of Kensi. She had a cherubic face though and dark green eyes that ended any resemblances. "I'm Becky, can I start you off with drinks?"

"What do you got for imported beer?" Callen asked all to happily.

Sam closed his eyes and tried to zen out the chatter as the waitress went through the long list. Callen decided on a pitcher of some beer Sam had never heard of and he asked for two glasses. "Any appetisers?" Becky asked.

"No," Sam said and shot a warning look Callen's way. "That was not in the outline."

"Appetisers are part of a meal," Callen countered.

"An entree is a meal," Sam responded, his eyes narrowing.

Callen sighed. "Fine, no appetisers."

Becky giggled a bit. "I'll bring the beer over in just a second!" And with that she was gone.

"This is going to cause serious problems," Sam said getting back to the discussion at hand.

Callen rolled his eyes. "Please, two years of their 'thing' was enough. All the longing glances, pent up sexual tension, this is a good thing." Their bet had been a long time, constantly re-betting when dates past as to when Kensi and Deeks would finally get together. "You're just angry because I happened to pick the exact date and now you, being the sore loser that you are, are mad that you have to pay for dinner."

Becky came back with the pitcher of beer and the two glasses. "You ready to order?"

"Yeah," Callen said ordering the steak meal.

It didn't surprise Sam in the least that his partner had ordered the most expensive meal on the menu. Sam ordered the same figuring he wouldn't enjoy a burger if Callen was having steak. With the waitress gone Sam leaned forward a bit. "This could effect their work."

Callen poured the first of the beers. "Look, they've had a thing since Deeks came to work with us," he said sliding the first glass over to Sam and grabbing the second one filling it too. "They've had their bumps, but I know that there isn't anything he wouldn't do to keep Kens safe, and lets face it, she'd do the same whenever she got the chance. They're _partners_." He put the pitcher down and took a drink from his glass savouring the flavours of the beer, everything tastes better when it's free. "Finally admitting their feelings for one another isn't going to change anything, they've been working with them for years."

"You're wrong G," Sam argued with a shake of his head. "This will change everything."

"Why? Because they're dating?"

"No, because they're in love, G. This job isn't easy. Having that one you love more than anything beside you isn't an asset, it's a grave liability. They're going to lose their edge."

"They're going to gain an edge," Callen argued. "They'll be more instinctive to one another, they'll spend less time annoying one another, and more time working together."

"You're wrong."

"Wanna bet?" Callen asked with a cocky smirk and a slightly raised eyebrow.

::

**Was doing this for the ncisfanblogspot's prompt for Sam/Callen character week. Didn't quite like it well enough to submit. I'll try again tomorrow for something I'm more content with. Still I figured someone might enjoy the little conversation so... posted. **


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